Carbon County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 64,749. The county is also part of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and Northeastern Pennsylvania. The county seat of Carbon County is Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe, which was founded in 1818 as Mauch Chunk and served as a company town of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, flows through Carbon County.

History

Moravian settlement

In 1745, the first settlement in Carbon County was established by a Moravian Church, Moravian mission in Gnadenhutten, which is present day Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Lehighton. Deeply moved by the deplorable state of the Lenape, Leni Lenape Indians in America, twelve Moravian missionaries left their home in Herrnhut, Germany and traveled by sea to the wilderness of Pennsylvania, a place known for religious tolerance under the auspices of Nicolaus Zinzendorf, Count Zinzendorf. Located where Lehighton now stands, Gnadenhutten exemplified communal simplicity. Home to hundreds of Lenape and Mohicans, Mohican Indians displaced by colonial settlements, predation, bigotry and subjugation to the Iroquois, the Delaware peoples were being squeezed out of the southern counties and New Jersey westwards and against the Blue Ridge escarpment. The mission was a scene of quiet, humble and unobtrusive heroism and the Indians' shelter. Although the wilderness of Carbon County was quite treacherous, the Moravians traveled in the wilds of Carbon County undaunted. By 1752, increased hostility put Gnadenhutten at risk for attack, but the missionaries' pious good works did not go unnoticed. The frankness and earnestness of the simple Moravians had won respect with the many tribes of Pennsylvania Indians, and they lived without incident until 1755.Rebecca M. Rabenold-Finsel, Carbon County: Postcard History (South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing 2004), 9. At that point an Amerindian uprising drove settlements away from the Lehigh Gap, and whites didn't reenter the area before the late 1780. In 1791, a homesteader, Phillip Ginter hunting on Sharp Mountain along Pisgah Ridge found a black tone coal outcropping, and conveyed a chunk of it to Weissport, Pennsylvania, Weissport.

Industrialization

Lehigh Coal Mine Company (LCMC) operations had managed to open up the mouth area of the Nesquehoning Creek by 1800. This area became known as Lausanne, or Lausanne Landing, after the Inn & Tavern built there called Landing Tavern. An Amerindian trail crossed the stream near the confluence with Jean's Run and the camp grounds of their boat builders, climbing northwestwards along a traverse to the next water gap west, eroded into the southern flank of Broad Mountain (Lehigh Valley), Broad Mountain in the Lehigh Valley. It connected across a barrier ridge whose waters originated in the saddle (landform), saddle-pass in which Hazleton, Pennsylvania was built. The trail would become the Lehigh & Susquehanna Turnpike in 1804. Today, Pennsylvania Route 93 follows this route with the exception of where modern road building capabilities allowed improved positioning. This road cut off from a trip from Philadelphia to the Wyoming Valley and the northern sections of the Coal Region.

Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company

In 1827, Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, based in present-day Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe, launched the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway, the nation's second operating railroad. The Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company, also located in Carbon County, was the first railway to operate steam locomotives as traction engines and Prime mover (locomotive), prime movers in the United States. The Mauch Chunck Switchback Railway connected mines west of Beaver Meadows, Pennsylvania, Beaver Meadows and Weatherly, Pennsylvania, Weatherly to the Lehigh Canal opposite Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Lehighton.

County's founding

Carbon County was created on March 13, 1843 from parts of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe counties and was named for the extensive deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the region, where it was first discovered in 1791. Early attempts were made to exploit the deposits by the Lehigh Coal Mine Company (1792), whose expeditions broke trail and pioneered river bank sites using mule powered technology to log, saw, and build ark (river boat), arks to carry bags of coal to Philadelphia with only scant success.

Molly Maguires

In the 19th century, Carbon County was the location of trials and executions of the Molly Maguires, an Ireland, Irish secret society that had been accused of terrorizing the region.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania), Blue Mountain forms the southern boundary of Carbon. The northeast area of the county is located in the Pocono Mountains and the northwest area includes portions of Broad Mountain (Lehigh Valley), Broad and Spring mountains. It is drained by the Lehigh River except for a small area in western Packer Township and the borough of Lansford that are drained by the Still Creek and Panther Creek, respectively, into the Little Schuylkill River and the Schuylkill River, and the Audenried, Pennsylvania, Audenried area in the northwest corner that drains into the Susquehanna River via the Catawissa Creek. The Lehigh cuts a gorge between Jim Thorpe and White Haven which hosts the Lehigh Gorge State Park.

Climate

Carbon County has a humid continental climate (''Dfa/Dfb'') and is mostly in hardiness zone 6a, except for 6b in some southern lowlands and 5b in some northern highlands. Average monthly temperatures at Jake Arner Memorial Airport range from 27.8 °F in January to 72.5 °F in July, while at the Pocono interchange of the Turnpike they range from 22.9 °F in January to 68.3 °F in July

Adjacent counties

*Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County (north) *Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County (east) *Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton County (southeast) *Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County (south) *Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County (southwest)

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Buses

Carbon Transit fixed-route bus service consists of Route 701 (Coaldale, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Coaldale-Palmerton, Pennsylvania, Palmerton) and Route 702 (Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, Nesquehoning-Palmerton), both connecting to the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, LANTA Route 325 bus in Palmerton. Carbon Transit also operates CT Flex service in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe, Penn Forest Township, Pennsylvania, Penn Forest Township, and Kidder Township, Pennsylvania, Kidder Township. Also, Hazleton Public Transit (HPT) bus route 30 serves northwestern Carbon County via Beaver Meadows, Pennsylvania, Beaver Meadows and Junedale, Pennsylvania, Junedale to Weatherly, Pennsylvania, Weatherly. Audenried, Pennsylvania, Audenried is served by HPT route 20 (Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Hazleton-McAdoo, Pennsylvania, McAdoo/Kelayres, Pennsylvania, Kelayres). Fullington Trailways provides intercity service to Carbon County with stops in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Lehighton and Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe. Martz Group, Martz Trailways has a stop in Kidder Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Kidder Township near the Pocono interchange of Interstate 476 for service between Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown, Quakertown, Pennsylvania, Quakertown, and Philadelphia. This is an Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach route, connecting to Amtrak trains at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. Martz also operates casino bus routes to Atlantic City, New Jersey, Atlantic City from the stop.

Airports

Jake Arner Memorial Airport in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Lehighton provides general aviation. The nearest commercial passenger service is at Lehigh Valley International Airport or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile (60/km²). There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile (31/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82% Race (United States Census), White, 0.60% Race (United States Census), Black or Race (United States Census), African American, 0.16% Race (United States Census), Native American, 0.31% Race (United States Census), Asian, 0.03% Race (United States Census), Pacific Islander, 0.32% from Race (United States Census), other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were Race (United States Census), Hispanic or Race (United States Census), Latino of any race. 29.4% were of German people, German, 10.1% Irish people, Irish, 9.2% Italian people, Italian, 7.9% United States, American, 6.6% Slovak people, Slovak, 6.0% Polish people, Polish and 5.8% Ukrainians, Ukrainian ancestry. There were 23,701 households, out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% were Marriage, married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.20% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

2020 Census

Law and government

Carbon County has long been considered a bellwether county for Pennsylvania statewide elections. In gubernatorial elections, it was perfect from 1952 to 2014. At the presidential level, Carbon County was also a bellwether for Pennsylvania (although not the nation) until recently, with only 1 miss (in 1960) from 1916 to 2000, and with a margin within 3.5 points of the statewide margin in every election from 1940 to 2000 except 1964 (5.3% more Democratic) and 1976 (6.9% more Democratic). However, since then the county has trended Republican relative to the state as a whole, with McCain outperforming in Carbon by 8.5% relative to the state and Romney outperforming by 12.9%. Republicans hold the commissioner majority while Democrats hold all county row offices. Al Gore carried it in 2000, and in 2004, Republican George W. Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry 49.99% to 48.81% or a margin of 296 votes. In 2020, Donald Trump won the county with 65.4% of the vote, the largest presidential victory any presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson's landslide in 1964.

County commissioners

*Wayne Nothstein, Chairman, Republican *Chris Lukasevich, Republican *Rocky Ahner, Democratic

State Senate

* John Yudichak, Independent politician, Independent, Pennsylvania's 14th Senatorial District * Dave Argall, Republican Party (United States), Republican, Pennsylvania's 29th Senatorial District

State House of Representatives

* Doyle Heffley, Republican Party (United States), Republican, Pennsylvania's 122nd Representative District * Jerry Knowles, Republican Party (United States), Republican, Pennsylvania's 124th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

* Dan Meuser, Republican Party (United States), Republican, Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district

United States Senate

*Pat Toomey, Republican Party (United States), Republican *Bob Casey, Jr., Bob Casey, Democratic Party (United States), Democrat

Education

Lehigh Carbon Community College Main Campus

Community, junior and technical colleges

*Lehigh Carbon Community College – Carbon Campus, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania

Public school districts

* Hazleton Area School District (also in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County) * Jim Thorpe Area School District * Lehighton Area School District * Palmerton Area School District * Panther Valley School District (also in Schuylkill County) * Weatherly Area School District

Career technical school

Carbon Career and Technical Institute, public school located in Jim Thorpe

Intermediate Unit

The public and private K-12 schools in Carbon County are served by Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21.

Recreation

Mauch Chunk Lake is a county-run park that offers swimming, camping, hiking and cross country skiing in the winter. There are three List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state parks in Carbon County: *Beltzville State Park *Hickory Run State Park *Lehigh Gorge State Park stretches along the Lehigh River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County and into Carbon County.

Municipalities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: List of cities in Pennsylvania, cities, List of towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania, boroughs, List of townships in Pennsylvania, townships, and, in the case of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, a List of towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania#Towns, town. The following boroughs and townships are located in Carbon County:

Boroughs

*Beaver Meadows, Pennsylvania, Beaver Meadows *Bowmanstown, Pennsylvania, Bowmanstown *East Side, Pennsylvania, East Side *Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe (county seat) *Lansford, Pennsylvania, Lansford *Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Lehighton *Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, Nesquehoning *Palmerton, Pennsylvania, Palmerton *Parryville, Pennsylvania, Parryville *Summit Hill, Pennsylvania, Summit Hill *Weatherly, Pennsylvania, Weatherly *Weissport, Pennsylvania, Weissport

Townships

*Banks Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Banks *East Penn Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, East Penn *Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Franklin *Kidder Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Kidder *Lausanne Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Lausanne *Lehigh Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh *Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Lower Towamensing *Mahoning Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Mahoning *Packer Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Packer *Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Penn Forest *Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Towamensing

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well. *Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, Albrightsville *Holiday Pocono, Pennsylvania, Holiday Pocono *Indian Mountain Lake, Pennsylvania, Indian Mountain Lake *Towamensing Trails, Pennsylvania, Towamensing Trails *Tresckow, Pennsylvania, Tresckow *Weissport East, Pennsylvania, Weissport East

Former communities

* Big Creek Valley, Pennsylvania, Big Creek Valley * East Penn Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, East Mauch Chunk, now an eastern part of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania * East Penn Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, East Penn Township, Pennsylvania, the far eastern part of today's Jim Thorpe at the other end of Bear Mountain (Lehigh Valley) * Lausanne Landing, Pennsylvania, Lausanne Landing, the original settlement above the Lehigh Gap at the mouth of the Nesquehoning Creek; terminus of the Lehigh & Susquehanna Turnpike founded in 1804 * Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 United States census, 2010 census of Carbon County. † ''county seat''

References

External links

Official county website
{{authority control Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 1843 establishments in Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Counties of Appalachia Pocono Mountains Populated places established in 1843